HMRC has been criticised for its “couch potato culture” after spending more than £80 million on remote working devices, according to official figures.
The findings, revealed under FOI rules by the Parliament Street think tank, showed that it has bought a total of 175,250 laptops, tablet computers, phones, and desktops at a total cost of £82,608,959 over the past three years.
Previous research had indicated that around 95 per cent of staff work remotely at least one day a week, a figure claimed to be higher than in the first Covid lockdown, when the proportion of HMRC staff working away from the office rose to 92 per cent.
Patrick Sullivan, Chairman of the Parliament Street think tank said: “HMRC cannot continue to splash our hard-earned cash to fuel this absurd remote working binge. It’s time to put an end to this couch potato culture, with staff ordered back into the office as a mandatory part of their job description.”
this kind of tech investment will dramatically boost productivity in the long term. However, equipping staff with shiny new devices is only part of the solution
But many in the tech industry were quick to see the positive side, albeit with caveats.
Sachin Agrawal, Managing Director, Zoho UK said: “Remote working is proven to deliver a dramatic increase to employee productivity, allowing staff to collaborate and manage important tasks wherever they may be.
“This level of tech investment should be part of a wider strategy, with employees getting access to the latest software applications, and being educated and fully trained to understand full capabilities. This ensures critical work is completed effectively and synchronised to deliver maximum value and contribute significantly to business success.”
Michael Thornton, senior director, public sector at Investigo said: “The bottom line is that this kind of tech investment will dramatically boost productivity in the long term. However, equipping staff with shiny new devices is only part of the solution, public sector teams need to embrace AI and ensure they have a robust digital talent pipeline in place to drive long term savings.”
Stuart Munton Chief for Delivery at AND Digital added: “Flexible working is critical for cutting travel time and reducing overheads in terms of office costs. If we want to build a leaner, more effective public sector then these kind of tech investments are key.”
How it breaks down: £64,088,744 on 88,362 laptops; £7,930,271 on 54,093 tablet computers; £10,112,552 on 32,013 mobile phones and £477,392 on 782 desktop PCs.
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Parliament Street Think Tank
